What To Expect in the Toddler Program

Toilet Training We will assist with toilet learning habits.

Phase-In Period We request that a family member stay with the child daily, sitting and observing, until this is no longer needed and the transition is evident.  It can take several days or perhaps longer for the child to feel comfortable in the new “home away from home.”  The first few days are short, and are gradually lengthened according to the child’s comfort in the environment.

Parent Support We look forward to having parents call for conferences when they have questions or ideas to share. We expect parents to attend parent meetings and feel that they are mandatory for a transfer of philosophy of life from Children’s House to home.

Toddler Activities The Toddler environment, both indoors and out, consists of developmentally appropriate activities, which involve movement appropriate to this sensitive period of the child’s life.  Manipulative, “practical life” exercises, such as dish washing, sensorial activities for sensory development, gross motor tasks, vocabulary-building, and habits of grace and courtesy form the foundation of the “curriculum.”

At the beginning of the year, activities available are those the children can perform successfully on their own in order to facilitate a successful transition from home to the Children’s House.  As the year progresses, additional, more complex activities are made available; the many steps involved in food preparation, for example, help develop the Toddler’s growing sense of order, coordination, concentration, and independence.

Social Interaction Children play and social interaction flows freely.  Free play is facilitated by age-appropriate equipment designed for learning and play experiences.  Grace and courtesy are taught and practiced as children learn to respect their playmates, the adult, and themselves.

Movement and Physical Coordination Coordination of movements are developmentally planned.  Dr. Montessori said that we have two streams of energy, mental and physical.  When these two streams are working in harmony, the personality develops positively.  The vestibular stimulation board is important in development, as well as fun activities with art materials, sand, water, ball-play, and climbing equipment on the playground.

Music Quality music is part of the background of sound in the Children’s House.  Children also learn to listen, move their hands, clap, and move their body to the music.

Creative Thought It is important to understand that children are learning all the time because Dr. Montessori told us that the child has an “absorbent mind.”  Every child is constantly absorbing the knowledge and all the feelings provided incidentally or deliberately from every experience in life.  Therefore, the heart and mind are one in this nurturing atmosphere, moving their body to the music.

Language Development How very necessary it is for us to understand what our young ones need.  Until they develop language to be able to tell us what they need and how they feel (communication skills), there needs to be a sensitive adult to help, to guide, and to direct the child.  Children who enter class speaking a language other than English absorb English and are supported in feeling comfortable.

Dr. Montessori said, “Language is truly the expression of a kind of super-intelligence…  It is the central point of difference between the human species and all others.  Language is an instrument of thought…  Language can separate and it can unite people.”

Staff Our capable Directresses are trained using courses approved by the American Montessori Society, which has served the USA since 1962, and/or Association Montessori Internationale.  We encourage you to take a Parent Membership in AMS and to support this organization.

Reading Resources In order for our parents to understand the foundation of this philosophy, we sincerely suggest, expect, and hope that parents will read the following books and others of their choice.  A good selection is available for lending from our Old Cutler Road and Palmetto Bay Campus Offices.

• The Absorbent Mind by Dr. Maria Montessori
• Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work by E.M. Standing
• The Hurried Child by Dr. David Elkind

Summer Toddler Session Students already enrolled the Toddler Program who are at least 18 months old, are welcomed to attend the eight-week Summer Toddler Session.  This program is simply an extension of what takes place during the school year – it is not camp.  It is a perfect opportunity to either transition a child into the Toddler Program, out of the Toddler Program and into the Preschool Program, or to maintain the child’s routine over the summer months.